Rodriguez shakes off rust for decisive win against Fairfield

M att MillER

MMILLER@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The Rodriguez High School softball finally got off the blacktop and back on the home dirt infield Friday during a 14-2 win over Fairfield.

The recent rains kept Rodriguez off the field since a win over Armijo on March 16. The Lady Mustangs had a little rust Friday but still managed to bang around nine hits in five innings to get the job done. Starting pitcher Brooklyn Denina threw a four-hitter in four innings with eight strikeouts.

“I think everybody was just happy to be able to play,” Denina said. “It would have been fun if it was a more competitive game, but we were really tired of the blacktop.”

The Lady Mustangs were aided by some walks, hit batters and errors, but they still had some big hits. Hailey Permenter was 2-for-2 with a triple and an RBI. Za’raya Garcia went 3-for-3 with an RBI.

Ellie Steiger and Ann Marie Jasso had doubles for Rodriguez. Denina drove in three runs and didn’t get a hit. One of Denina’s RBIs came on a sacrifice fly and the others came on a bases-loaded hit batter and a basesloaded walk.

Jaedyn White, Jade Babas and Eliza Goodwin also had hits for the Lady Mustangs. Goodwin added an RBI. Sofia Coleman pitched the fifth.

“We had some positives,” Rodri- guez head coach Tracy Lopez said. “We played more as a team and as a cohesive unit, which is important. We did get a little sloppy at the end of the game. But we only played three games before today and haven’t been able to get on the field very much.”

Amya Medoza was 2-for-2 with a double for Fairfield. Kailee Cox also doubled and had an RBI. Lyla Torrez singled and had an RBI. Evangelia Degros-Perreira and Nikki O’Reilly also added hits.

Rodriguez improved to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the Monticello Empire League. Fairfield fell to 2-6 overall and 0-4 in the MEL. The Falcons were coming off a wild 20-18 loss to Armijo at home Thursday.